


So Basically, What I'm Saying Is Screw Goetia

by OnionWizard



Series: ChaldeaStuck [1]
Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crack Treated Seriously, Gen, Homestuck References, Olga Marie Animusphere Lives, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, woohoo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27495952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnionWizard/pseuds/OnionWizard
Summary: When her only friend betrayed her, Olga Marie Animusphere thought for sure that her life was over, doomed to eternal death. But now here she was, starting from scratch in more ways than one. With a new lease on life, she's going to prove there's reason for her to exist...even if fate is out to get her.AKA obligatory "I want Director-san to live" re-telling of FGO with a little twist.
Series: ChaldeaStuck [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009389
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	1. The Note Desolation Plays

A young man is asleep on the floor. It just so happens that it is in fact NOT his 16th birthday. The honor of having a special day would go to another person that will probably be seen later. Despite this, birthdays nonwithstanding, something does feel rather hollow in his life. A complacent void, if you will, the comfort of a plain life. And though it has probably been years since this young man has been given life, only today will be given a name!

(= = > Enter name… SERVANTFRICKER69)

What is wrong with you.

( = = > Enter name… GUDAO )

Nice try. No.

Your name is RITSUKA FUJIMARU. There isn’t much to say about you because...well...there simply isn’t. Just that you’re an average guy with nice blue eyes and boring brown hair. You have a few INTERESTS. This includes a passion for pop culture of the MECHA variety, though you occasionally dabble in MAGICAL GIRL shows. But you also enjoy simple things like playing GAMES and READING.

Currently you are exhausted from participating in the SPIRITRON DIVE SIMULATOR and a nasty bout of JET LAG. Truly a fearsome combination that annihilated your stamina for the moment.

What will you do?

(= = > Ritsuka: Wake the frick up)

Sorry, but that’s not your job. That’s someone else’s role, and they should be arriving sometime soon. In the meantime, can I interest you in a word from our sponsor, RAID SHAD-

(= = > Why does this even exist, this format sucks anyways!)

Gee, so sorry, but the author has no artistic ability. That’s just how it is! You’re just going to have to do with words.

( = = > Author: Just start the story properly please. And fast forward, everyone and their mother has seen this sequence.)

Only because you asked nicely...fine, I’ll do it right this time. Again, I’m sorry.

OK! We are doing this! We are making this happen!

* * *

Of all the places he thought he would go to, a city eternally burning in flames was the last place Ritsuka thought he would end up visiting, much less with a girl he thought was dying and the weight of survival heavy on his shoulders.

It wasn’t all that bad, though! The girl got a lot better (she became a “Demi-Servant”, now stronger than ever) and they had made an ally in a man dressed in blue who called himself Caster. Ritsuka wouldn’t say he was a complete optimist, but these circumstances were far better than the hellish atmosphere would suggest.

Oh, and there was the Director Olga Marie Anime-something too. Ritsuka and Mash rescued her from being chased by skeletons, and she had the audacity to criticize the poor Master. But she wasn’t all that bad either, making orders through communication with Chaldea to preserve the lives of those caught in the explosion. For all her frustration and the way the doctor and Mash described her, Ritsuka was sure there was a heart of gold buried deep within the Director. Probably.

“Senpai, we’re about to reach the Greater Grail where King Arthur is. This may be our biggest battle yet.” Mash looked at Ritsuka with a serious yet caring look. He nodded, feeling the slightest bit of anticipation. 

“Doctor, are you checking vitals? Fujimaru looks paler than usual.” The Director peered at the novice Master with an intense look.

“Huh? Oh, that doesn’t look good. But that’s expected of one’s magic circuits going from dormant to running at full capacity in such short notice. You’re putting stress on the brain.” Doctor Roman turned to face the Shielder from his hologram. “Mash, set up camp. It’s time to make some warm tea with plenty of honey.”

Oh, that sounded heavenly right about now. It was pretty amazing how Mash’s shield could carry so many things out of seemingly nowhere, but Ritsuka was not about to refuse an emergency picnic. Even the Director contributed, setting down an equally impossible amount of dried fruit. 

“Oh, feeding yourselves?” Caster smirked. Servants didn’t need such things, but the action was always welcome. “It’s a shame there are no boars around. Meat would have completed this feast.” 

Master, Shielder, and Director gobbled up the fruit rather quickly. Fighting the forces of undead and evil Shadow Servants sure did summon a big appetite! 

“I’m stuffed,” sighed Mash in polite satisfaction. “I can’t believe you had dried fruits with you, Director. Again your sense of preparedness astonishes me.”

The Master was too busy stuffing his face with peaches to reply, but his face was also awash in the bliss of curbing his hunger. Olga Marie kept a neutral expression. “I just happened to have them. That aside…” She looked at Ritsuka, then at the cavern wall.

“Um, what ish it Director?” Though a little unflattering, the Master could not help but show immediate concern at the young woman’s expression. 

“The...the work you have been doing so far, has been passable. As Director of Chaldea, I have to give you credit.”

Ritsuka’s eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise, although it could have been from the sweet flavor of the honey in his tea. No, hearing those words was definitely sweeter.

“..Hmph. What’s that look for?” Olga Marie felt a little blush coming on. Ugh, how unprofessional! “I’m sure it’s a fluke, but right now you’re all we’ve got. What I’m saying is, keep it up and you might hear praise from me yet. I know that even a third-rater can do first-rate work.”

Dr. Roman suddenly popped up from a hologram, stifling a chuckle. “Well, well, well, admitting that Fujimaru did a good job. Have you eaten something sweet?”

The Director glared at his digital form. “Romani,” she grumbled. “If you have time to flap your gums, use it to send Fujimaru a supply or two instead. I would feel bad if someone failed because they were ill-equipped.” She paused. “Especially if they have been doing their best.”

Dr. Roman smiled. “What’s this? “Feel bad?” How kind of you. Director, does this mean you’re finally opening your heart?”

“Idio.. I-I meant pitiful! Pathetic! You couldn’t even tell that?!”

“Well, I never grow tired of watching young men and women interact. Although when it comes to young women, Director, you’re not really…” Romani trailed off upon noticing the fury in the eyes of a scorned Olga Marie.

Mash spoke up after the awkward silence. “Is that right? Certainly, the Director is older, but I feel we have similar tastes. I feel affection for her-” 

And then the straw broke the Director’s back. “What are you all going on about? I told you before that you’re all just tools to me!” Beside her, a monstrous cloaked figure agreed, nodding.

“There, see? Even this shadowy-like monster-thing agrees!”

“Uh Director, isn’t that a bad thing?” Both Master and Servant got up to prepare for a little skirmish.

“Huh?” She turned to face the hooded figure, who gave her a welcoming shriek. “Eeeeek! Mash, hurry up and get rid of it! It’s going to eat me! It’s definitely going to eat me!!” 

* * *

“...I was going to defend the Holy Grail to the very end, but I lost because my tenacity wavered. Ultimately, no matter how my fate changes, I will always meet the same end if I am alone.” With a resigned sigh, the blackened form of Saber lowered her sword and gazed upon the victors of the Holy Grail War. At her feet, golden sparkles began to manifest. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?! Bastard, what do you know?” For some reason, Saber’s words angered Caster. Ritsuka wasn’t surprised, given that those two had probably fought each other before he, Mash, and the Director arrived.

“Eventually you too will realize it, Irish Child of Light.” The dark Saber turned her golden gaze at Olga Marie. “Grand Order, the battle to obtain the Holy Grail has just begun.”

“Hey, wait! What do you mean by that?!” But Caster’s words never reached her, since the Heroic Spirit vanished in a plume of golden light. He stopped as he reached where Saber stood, looking back at the group. Golden sparks were also at his feet, rising upwards. “Huh, looks like I’m being sent back too.” Caster took his staff and leaned on it. “Hey kid, I leave the rest to you. If there’s a next time, summon me as a Lancer!”

And with that, the Caster in blue vanished into light. On the ground where both Servants stood was a crystal glimmering in the reflected light of the sky. Mash went over and picked it up, while the Director examined it. “No doubt, this must be the Holy Grail that created this Singularity. But then why...Grand Order...how did that Saber know?”

“Is something the matter?” Ritsuka noticed that the Director made that face again, the one that said she was extremely peeved. “The Grand Order, was that something important?”

“Of course it is!” Olga Marie glared at the novice Master, but then softened her look to mere annoyance. “In any case, you and Mash did well dealing with Saber. Several points are unclear, but let’s call this mission complete.”

“Alright!” Ristuka clenched his fist in happiness, but was short-lived when they heard the sound of clapping echoing from the ridge above the battleground. A menacing figure was applauding them from above...he had to be menacing. Have you seen the size of that top hat?

“Congratulations. I never would have expected you all to get this far, beyond both my expectations and tolerances.”

The clapping continued, and it felt less and less congratulatory. “Master Candidate #48. It was my mistake to naively overlook you as an improbable child.” 

Ritsuka could only blankly stare at the man above the group with a confused expression. Meanwhile, his communication device beeped, and Romani’s form came into view. “Is that Professor Lev I hear? Is he alive?”

“Hmm, is that Romani I hear? So that makes three.” Lev Lainur glared at the posse below him with horrible fish-eyes. “An improbable child, trash who won’t listen to orders, and of course, the one who made all of this possible.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Olga Marie ran up as far as she can to the ridge to the dismay of Mash and Ritsuka. They tried to hold her back, but she was too fast. She stared up at Lev, unborn tears in her orange eyes. “I’ve been going crazy from all these unforeseen complications, but it will be alright since you’re here! That’s how it’s always been, right? You’ll help me this time too, won’t you Lev?”

“Yes, of course. All of these circumstances bother me greatly.” Lev tipped his hat so that his face was more clear to see. “And the biggest complication is you, Olga. I set the bomb right under your feet and yet you still live.”

Olga Marie staggered back in shock. “What? L-Lev? Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?”

Lev simply smiled serenely, closing his eyes. “Sorry, you are already dead. Well, your body at least, long ago. I suppose Trismegistus decided to transfer your residual thoughts here out of pity.”

All the Director could do was stare in complete silence, simultaneously denying and despairing upon hearing those words.

“You had no aptitude for Rayshifting when alive, right? That’s why you can’t return to Chaldea. Once you leave this place, your consciousness will vanish. The woman known as Olga Marie Animusphere...will be nothing more than a memory.”

“I can’t...I can’t return to Chaldea?”

“D-Director, don’t listen to him! I’m sure the doctor can figure out something, or we can! Don’t give up just yet!” Ritsuka’s words shook Olga Marie briefly out of her funk, and the woman turned to look at the Master with despair. “Don’t. Don’t make empty promises.”

“How boorish. She is already dead. You can’t change fate! But even that would be too sad of a story.” Behind Lev, the background ruptured and the ruins of Chaldea came into view.

“What the- is this real?” Dr. Roman looked at his screen, at the contraption, and then back at the visuals of Fuyuki. 

“I have connected the dimensions for you. The Holy Grail allows me to do that.”

Ritsuka looked at Mash, who was staring at the glowing crystal in her possession. “Wait, he can do that from here?”

“Behold, child of the Animuspheres. Behold your greatest treasure and folly!”

A golden glow came over Olga Marie, who started levitating towards the Chaldeas Reactor. “Wha- something’s pulling me- no, I can’t!”

The professor laughed. “It will be the same as touching a black hole, or a sun. Disintegration on a molecular level for those that touch it. Ahahahahahaha!”

“Who are you.” The Director’s voice was low and serious, but her eyes expressed panic and fear. “Who are you, and what HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY CHALDEAS?!” Her voice grew more hysterical as she grew closer to the hellish sphere.

Ritsuka could not stand to watch this happen any longer, and ran towards the woman. But Mash’s hand grabbed his arm, and he could only watch as the Shielder pleaded for him to not get close. “I- I can’t stand this. This is too cruel!”

“I know.” Mash closed her eyes in sorrow. “But we can’t blindly attack Lev, who knows what he might do. He’s an experienced mage.”

“Mash...give me the Grail.” The Demi-Servant looked at the crystal and handed it to her Master. “What are you planning?”

“I..don’t know. But everyone says this thing can grant wishes, right? Well, I have something I want.” He stared at the sky, watching as the Director approached the burning reactor. Time was running out, but Ritsuka knew what he wanted. With unspoken words, he willed the Grail to grant his wish.

Lev’s raucous laughter filled the area. “Hahahahaha! The Grail may be a powerful device said to grant wishes, but you cannot do the impossible with it. The dead cannot be returned to life with a mere Grail! Your wish is as good as nothing.”

Still, Ritsuka willed for it to _do something. Anything to stop her from such a cruel and unusual death._ She wasn’t completely dead, right? Her soul was here. That had to be enough, right? Then... _give her a body._ Something to tether her soul back to the world again.

But it really seemed like nothing had happened, because the Director’s screams and pleas continued to echo through the area. “No one’s ever praised me! It’s always like this! No one has ever valued me!” She sobbed harshly, her tears evaporating in the sheer heat. “From the moment I was born, I was never accepted-”

“It’s too late...we can’t make it…” Mash’s soft words were useless, and she could only watch the spectacle in horror. In a flash of fiery light, Olga Marie was consumed by the fire of the reactor.

Lev was talking, but his words never reached Ritsuka’s ears. He blabbered on and on about humanity being finished, and Roman was trying to figure out what was happening, but all the Master wanted to do was give this demon a piece of his mind. 

“Shut up. Just, shut up.” As if in response to his outburst, the ground started to rumble slightly. Ok, maybe that was cause for concern, but Ritsuka ignored that for now.

“Lev. I don’t know if you’re even human, and judging by your villainous monologue you’re probably going to leave soon, but know this. We will find you, and you’ll pay for what you did to the Director!”

“Those are brave words coming from a mere human,” chuckled the professor. “We will see if you can do that if the dimensional warp doesn’t swallow you whole.”

The little rumble had become a full-on earthquake. “Believe it or not, I actually have things to do, so you’re right. I’ll be taking my leave now, Chaldeans.” Lev tipped his hat in farewell. “I’m not that evil, so maybe you can say your prayers before dying. Goodbye!”

And with that, the green man left, leaving Mash and Ritsuka to fend for themselves in an unstable cavern. 

“Doctor! Get us out of here!” Mash yelled, but the connection was just as unstable.

“-re do- what we ca- Jus- hold on, okay? You can survive a dozen seconds in space, at least!”

“Was that supposed to be beneficial?” 

“Arrgh, I’m so mad, I’m about to lose my cool!” The Shielder shared a look with her Master. “Senpai, your hand!”

The last thing Ritsuka saw before darkness was the figure of Fou, who hadn’t done anything relevant since everyone landed in Fuyuki. “Heh, Fou. At least you’re alright…” The words came out of his mouth before the world vanished from his eyes.

* * *

A young woman is deeply asleep in what is known as a COFFIN, a device that allows users to RAYSHIFT with little to no danger. Today was supposed to be an important MISSION, but COMPLICATIONS have brought that to a halt. This is why she is currently UNCONSCIOUS. Though it has been many years that she has been alive, only now will she receive a name!

( = = > We are doing this again? Enter Name… HaremMaster420)

Stop that. Get some help.

(= = > Enter Name… GUDAKO)

I’m really tempted, but I’m going to say no.

(= = > You’re no fun….wait, where’s the Enter Name?!)

I have decided that feature is no longer necessary for this particular homosapien, and here’s why:

Your name is OLGA MARIE ANIMUSPHERE, and you have WOKEN UP in an unfamiliar and claustrophobic place.


	2. Guess that makes me Player Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The narrator would like to say she doesn't wanna go into full detail of how Director-san is alive. She says it's blah blah her soul bluhh spiritron conversion and all the Grail did was give her a new, tangible "container". No she's not a Heroic Spirit. There's nothing heroic about a boss described as "evil", or "stubborn", and has a 0% approval rating, right?
> 
> Maybe I said too much useless information. Anyways, let's meet some familiar faces this chapter, OK?

A woman stands in the infirmary of Chaldea. Due to a serious bombing, the facility is not in optimal operational standards. Nevertheless, it’s up to her to get the job done and analyze, learn, and infer what to do next. The new Acting Director is relying on you to get your act together and introduce yourself! This beautiful woman is named…

It’s at the tip of your tongue, your swear…

Wait a minute, you sure she wasn’t supposed to be a guy?

( = = > Enter Name...FLIGHTY BROAD)

Hey now, that’s no way to describe a lady! 

( = = > One more time! Enter Name… DA BINKY)

Close, but no banana!

Your name is LEONARDO DA VINCI. After becoming a HEROIC SPIRIT, you decided to act in your best interests and model your new form after the MONA LISA. You are the kind of person to admit to be a PERVERT and when within reason, boast greatly about your ACHIEVEMENTS in life. That being said, you’re a GENIUS, not a narcissist. 

You have a variety of INTERESTS, including your own LOOKS, and mammals of the AVIAN variety. You have an extreme thirst for LEARNING, and THE UNEXPECTED is a subject of great interest to you.

Currently you are investigating the most recent ANOMALIES to grace the Chaldea institute for the preservation of Humanity’s Future. A boy and his Demi Servant who have recently returned from two forced Rayshifts, safe and sound...and a revived unknown Master Candidate from a relatively undamaged Coffin.

What will you do?

( = = > Da Vinci: Wave your arms around like a wacky inflatable and jump on top of the computers. )

...She will not be doing that! Why would she perform such a terrible idea? Besides, you can’t be Da Vinci right now. She’s busy analyzing fresh data from the events of Singularity F.

( = = > Fine. Be the Director.)

* * *

The first sensation Olga Marie felt upon awakening was that the space around her was no longer tight, or _intensely hot like a furnace_ but soft and warm, like a bed. Scratch that, this _was_ a bed, and she was alive! Maybe that whole sequence of Singualrity F being a hellscape, Lev betraying her, and getting sent into Chaldeas was all just a dream. A very bad dream because she was afraid of messing up the entire Rayshift expedition. A fantasy of her worst fears, that’s all that was.

That had to be it, right? So then why...why did she feel smaller and why was she in the infirmary? Why wasn’t Lev here, and why was that boy and the Demi-Servant conversing with the head engineer?!

Shifting the covers to sit up properly, Olga tentatively tried to speak. “What is going on here-” And just as quickly, she clamped her hands over her mouth.

Oh, that definitely did NOT sound like her voice! She was in her mid-twenties, but the sound that came out of her mouth was that of a teenager. 

As creepy and as disturbing as it sounded, this was definitely not her body. Olga no longer felt the familiar sensation of her long hair, only sensing that it fell just a bit longer than her shoulders. The fact that it was orange as fire confirmed the horrifying notion, though. She couldn’t feel her Magic Circuits activating either, though something was there. What in the world happened?

Da Vinci, Ritsuka, and Mash all approached her with relieved yet pitying looks. “I see you’re awake now,” said Da Vinci. “Try to stay calm, alright? We are also trying to figure out this situation on top of recovering Chaldea’s functions.”

“How...can I be calm...in a situation like THIS?!” She was seething like a kettle about to boil over in terms of frustration. “Where is Lev? Or anyone sensible to sort this out, for that matter?” She gripped the bedsheet tightly, feeling aggressively nervous.

“Director...this is all my fault.” Ritsuka bowed slightly in apology, his bangs hiding the look of sorrow etched on his face. “I used the Grail to bring you back...I didn’t know how it would do that, or if it even worked, I just went ahead and wished for something-”

His words grew fainter and fainter. Olga was starting to feel sick as she recalled the events of Fuyuki, her last moments and _the heat from the reactor as she got closer and closer, Lev- her only friend, Lev- laughing as she was pulled away from the ground, heading straight into her father’s magnum opus-_

_“From the moment I was born, I’ve never been accepted-” never been accepted- never been accepted- never- never- never-_

“Director, I know this is a lot to take in, but I just want to say thank you.”

Mash’s words cut through her traumatic flashback, pulling Olga Marie back to reality in shock. Tears stained the Director’s cheeks, and Olga could feel her face burning red in shame. 

“Wh-what for?” 

All she had done was make a lot of noise. She wasn’t the one commanding Mash or that Caster to battle against the enemy Servants, or giving directions from Chaldea as mission control. She was nothing but someone only trying to do her best, and yet accomplished nothing to show for it.

“Without you, we wouldn’t have survived. You were the one guiding us through the Singularity, and led us in the right direction.” Ritsuka’s words felt so kind, so warm. Was this what being praised felt like? Was someone...actually accepting her?

“Senpai is right. You helped us a lot, and you’re always so prepared. So please, let us say this..”

The sickening sensation returned again. But it felt strangely good, in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable yet bearable kind of way. Olga felt tears threatening to spill out again. And really, could anybody blame her?

“Welcome back, Director.”

It was the first time in forever that she ever experienced a group hug, much less one as tight as an anaconda. But even so, she accepted it. It felt so awkward, and she didn’t understand why they cared so much, but she accepted it.

* * *

“Well Director, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is, obviously, that you are alive and healthy. Somehow, you’ve gained a decent aptitude for Rayshifting.” Dr. Roman looked through his papers, nodding. After the reunion with Ritsuka and Mash, Olga was forced to go through a medical check-up. You know, in case anything weirder than a new look had happened to her. And sure enough, some things did change. “I would even go as far as to say you can handle being a Master now. Which is impressive, considering you had none of this potential before.”

“And the bad news?” Olga had a feeling about what it was, but she had to hear it from Romani.

“Your Magic Circuits are definitely of higher quality compared to Ritsuka, but they won’t be exactly like what you had before. Also…” The doctor lowered his voice. “The Animusphere Crest is gone.” The doctor looked at her with a serious expression, with eyes that knew what that meant to the girl.

“I see.” The Director touched her forehead. So then her gut feeling was true. One of the few things her father ever gave her, the only thing she had to her name in the Mages Association was gone. “I suppose defying the impossible had to come at a price.”

“And now there is something I’ve been meaning to discuss, if I may.” Olga nodded slowly, and Roman began to speak. “Only about twenty-percent of the Chaldea staff is functional, and as far as they know, Director Olga Marie Animusphere perished before the Singularity collapsed. The world outside has been completely incinerated. There will be no help from the Mage’s Association, the United Nations, or any of our sponsors.” He paused, letting the grave circumstances sink in.

“I’m telling you this now, because as far as the records are concerned, Director, you are dead. And you know that whatever miracle Ritsuka pulled off for you with the Grail is going to be strictly reviewed by the Mage’s Association once things go back to normal. _If_ things go back to normal.”

“This is just my opinion, but I wouldn’t put the boy under that much scrutiny- especially for interacting with a Holy Grail- when he barely knows about this-”

“I understand,” Olga huffed. “But I’m not backing down from my job just because of a circumstance like this.” She stared intently into Roman’s eyes. “I am still an Animusphere. I will perform my very best no matter how unfavorable the odds are.” She paused, thinking of Ritsuka. He barely knew her, and she had treated him harshly, but he somehow made this miracle happen for her. “Even so...I’ll have to figure out how to explain why my appearance changed so drastically without putting Fujimaru at risk.”

The doctor smiled. “I see you’ve started to care for that boy. The Singularity really changed you, hmm?”

“Oh come on! This isn’t the time for joking Romani! It’s only fair that if he had gone that far to bring me back, I should give him a normal life after all of this settles out.” If there was a normal life beyond this, anyway.

“I know, I know.” The doctor looked at the Director firmly. “So you plan on speaking with the rest of the staff soon about this?”

Olga nodded. “That’s right.” 

“Well then. I’ll go tell Ritsuka and Mash to meet you at the Command Room.” Roman got up and headed towards the door, but not without turning to face the Director one more time. “Despite everything, I’m glad you are still with us. But don’t push yourself too hard, alright?”

* * *

“...so in short, I am still the Director. Despite what happened in Singularity F, I have returned alive. But now, I will be actively dealing with the Grand Order and the Singularities. Dr. Romani and Da Vinci will take care of matters here in Chaldea in my place, and you all will still do your job as best as you all can do. Do I make myself clear? I will not allow any failures, even in this time of sheer crisis!”

In front of her, the remaining staff members grumbled and chatted amongst themselves. Most of them were understandably baffled, some were angry, and others simply nodded in resignation. It was understandable, though. A redheaded stranger suddenly talking to you with the bossy attitude of your recently-deceased boss and claiming she _is_ your boss? Totally bizarre!

“Never mind the situation! How do you expect us to take orders from some teenager?!”

“Calm down, Silvia. This is just as weird to me as it is to you.”

“Okay, fine. But how do we know this isn’t some nutcase claiming to be the Director? We _did_ just rescue that stowaway. No one was supposed to even be in that particular Coffin!” The mage employee silently cursed the staff for overlooking that.

“Well, I doubt the doc and Da Vinci would let some nobody step up and speak. Besides, she certainly acts like our Director. I believe her.” The staff member mumbled additionally, “She’s bossy, and sharp with the orders. Do you know anyone as arrogant as her here?”

“You have a point,” pouted Silvia. “But I’m still not trusting her.”

“It shouldn’t matter anyway,” said another staff member. “At least someone has an idea of what direction we should go from here.”

“It’s the end of the world as we know it…”

“When is lunch break? This meeting sure gave me an appetite.”

Olga crossed her arms and sighed as she watched the chatter fill up the silence of the room. Was it really that hard to take her seriously? She even found a Mage’s Association uniform and styled her hair in the usual braid! Well, clothes didn’t change much, but that wasn’t important! “I guess it was too much to hope for a unified response,” she muttered to herself.

“Well, you got the point across with the usual reaction. I think that shows they took it rather well,” said Roman sheepishly with a hand scratching the back of his neck.

Olga sharply turned to glare at the Doctor. “And who said you could speak when I’m brooding?!” She promptly engaged in talking his ear off while the staff members continued to converse. From a distance, Da Vinci smiled. Some things never change even with the world at stake.

* * *

After some discussion between the Rayshifters, the Grand Order, and adjusting Coffins, the meeting was over and the Director was then approached by Ritsuka and Mash. 

“Hmph. To think that you are the only Master capable of Rayshifting and being able to actively participate in investigating Singularities,” mused Olga. “Well, besides me of course.” She gave Ritsuka a serious stare. “You _are_ certain that you are willing to aid in restoring humanity to its proper course? This is not some simple task that you can opt out from and leave Mash and I to finish your work.”

His blue eyes shone with determination. “I will do it.” He exhaled through his nose with a smile. “It’s not like I have a choice, right? I can’t just leave two people to do all the work. If I have the ability to help, then there’s no reason to stay back.”

“Well,” Olga sighed. “Alright then. You and Mash go take some time to rest, because starting tomorrow we will take on traveling to the seven Singularities…together.” It was subtle, but the Director had a small smile on her face as she watched Ritsuka and Mash leave towards the hallways beyond the Command Room.

Yeah. She wasn’t alone anymore. Lev betrayed her, and it still stung deeply, but she wasn’t alone. 

With that bittersweet yet comforting thought, Olga Marie left for the library. There was something she was aiming to do before engaging in the mission. And now that she had the aptitude, maybe it was time for her to summon her own Servant…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kept you waiting, huh. At least my upcoming vacation might spare me more time to write. Um, to be honest I feel like I'm teetering on the edge of silly and serious, so I'd appreciate it if I got some critique. I promise I won't cry. And yes, Olga is supposed to look like Gudako now. It's just an aesthetic change! Nothing major changes, haha! Until it's all over and the Mage's Association comes in, haha...
> 
> I wonder if you know who Director-san is going to summon,, hmmm?


End file.
